THREE wind turbines may be built close to Suffolk’s county town, it has emerged.

Ipswich Borough Council has announced it is working with renewable energy developer Partnerships for Renewals to test land adjacent to the A14 at Thorington Barn, Belstead.

The project is just a proposal at the moment and the council will be consulting with surrounding residents in March.

However, initial studies into building the trio of turbines in the area found this could generate enough electricity to power 3,600 homes a year.

Inga Lockington, Ipswich councillor for the environment, has been working on the proposal and said she thought it was a “wonderful project”.

She said: “We are always looking at ways to produce sustainable energy. The council started looking at doing this years ago and we had to consider various sites that the council owns outside of Ipswich.”

She added: “We will start by testing the site – no-one will be putting up turbines if there is not enough wind to power them.”

Cllr Lockington said she did not think the working sound of the turbines would be a problem because the proposed location was next to a noisy road.

Kathy Pollard, county councillor for Belstead, agreed but highlighted that residents could have other issues with having the electricity generators in the area.

She said: “I can’t anticipate how they will feel and there are not a lot of properties nearby, but I think people need to think about the visual impact this will have on the landscape.

“It is a very rural area and people will be able to see the turbines easily, so they have to decide if they want that.”

Cllr Pollard urged residents to attend a meeting with the project team behind the proposal on March 23, at Belstead Village Hall in Grove Hill, between 4pm and 8pm.

She said: “My advice to residents would be to get involved with the consultations and find out more. If they disagree with the proposal, they have to make their feelings known at this stage.”